Sober October Challenge

[KK1983]

Good afternoon 😊

As the title suggests, I have decided to give 'Sober October' my all and go alcohol free for 31 days. This challenge might be a walk in the park for some but this is going to be HUGE for me. In the past 12yrs, I can't even remember the last time I have even gone a week sober, let alone a month!

So, I am a daily drinker. I have 1-2 bottles per day, sometimes more over the weekend. I have a successful job and a beautiful life but my drinking is becoming more of an issue that I ever thought it would be. I think about it more than I want, plan days around it and spend far too much money on it. Alcoholism runs in my family so i'm aware of the signs which is why I need to get a grip asap. I want to be able to moderate.

If you saw me in the street you'd look at me and think I have my shit together. I have the house, the kids, the marriage, the job - the lot! Drinking became a friend when I had none and when I was lonely after my daughter was born and my husband worked nights. Now drinking feels part of my personality, people know me as someone who loves a drink, the life and soul and I used to love that but now, I'm bored of myself.

I have tried to go sober several times but I get to day 4 and give in after finding any tiny excuse to reward myself. Night 1 always feels a bit rough. I role around the bed for hours on end and get a little anxious but nothing too bad. Day 2 I feel hungover without the fun the night before. Day 3 I cry a lot and become quite irritated. Day 4 - I quit! Not this time though, I NEED to do this and I WILL do this.

To help me along the way I have started taking the following vitamins:

• Vitamin B Complex high strength
• Live friendly gut bacteria
• Vitamin B1 500mg x2
• Iron
• Biotin & Zinc
• Vitamin D & K2

Can any recommend anything else or have any tips to help me along the way?

Thank you for taking the time to read this,
Kate x

Tony chocolony bars are incredible be fair 😍 Funny isn’t, I think they’re expensive too but wouldn’t think twice about paying a tenner for a glass of Prosecco 😂

All good thanks, slowly prepping for Wednesday to start. I'm strangely looking forward to it tbh. Doubt I'll be feeling that way this time next weekend but it's nice to have the support on here and knowing some of us are in the same boat.

I'm at a wedding today, out for a meal tomorrow and then it's date day on Tuesday so I will enjoy a drink but just take it easy.

5 days is amazing, do you feel good? You've done to well to wean yourself off it, especially given the circumstances.

Roll on October!!

So true!! They are delicious 😋 just need prosecco to be a bit less delicious now 😂

Agreed! Hahaha

I actually managed to go to Tesco at 5pm on a Saturday and come out without wine this evening! Basically unheard of!

Did have several pots of premium ice cream in my bag though instead 😂

I’ll join too. I’m definitely drinking more than I should. It makes me tired and more likely to eat badly but I keep going back to it. Sober October will be a good reset! My husband has agreed to join me as well as he has definitely been drinking too much beer. We are never drunk but just too much consistently in the week!

Just wanted to pop in and wish you all good luck!

I am 16 months AF and can 100% relate to OP. Decided to properly commit to a 90 break June last year and immersed myself in quitlit (audio books), found some displacement activities (running and baking mainly), cooked foods that don't naturally pair with wine (my drink of choice) and took to hot baths and elaborate skin care routines in the evening.

I soon realised that moderation was not going work for me me and that I needed to just live without alcohol in my life. So I joined a very supportive thread in here .

It has been so so worth it.

I can highly recommend This Naked Mind by Annie Grace and The Sober Mummy Diaries by Clare Poorly (audiobook versions) that I listened to in the evening when the wine witch would raise her head.

That’s huge - I’d struggle to leave with nothing.

Yay! The more the merrier 🥳

My husband doesn’t drink so this will make things easier for me and that’s great that your husband is jumping on board too - every little helps.

The vineyard owners will see a huge decline in profit when we all start this 😂

Congratulations on your sobriety, that’s amazing!

I’m hoping this will be a reset for me and new healthy habits will be built. Plus I’m looking forward to being really proud of myself at the end of this. With the money I save from wine I’ve seen a couple of nice coats that I’ll treats myself to 😉

Ive actually purchased a couple of books regarding sobriety so I’m looking forward to reading those in the evenings x

I'm in. A veteran of various Dry Jan's and other cutting down/ giving up attempts so I should be good at it by now but I think we all know it doesn't work that way.

Starting early as I'm using an app that starts on Mondays so I want to have a full week of drink free days under my belt. I'm not really a chocolate or mocktail person but don't get me started on crisps/ salty snacks ....

Have a lovely Monday all 😀

Can I join 👋🏻?

it’s refreshing to see other posters who are in a similar situation to me. Some nights I am drinking 1 or 2 bottles of wine, it’s truly spiralled and it’s terrifying. I am not great drinking wine anymore (perimenopause) and am getting myself into situations/conversations I never would if I were sober.

Not to mention what I imagine it’s doing to my health.

Im on a low dose of Citalopram with the aim to come off all together and I know without the hangxiety it would all be so much easier.

lets do this 💪🏼

Good luck - you’ve got this!!

omg same, I’m addicted to beef hoops 😂 Don’t get me started on cheese and crackers.

I’d like to join please and decided yesterday when I was hungover from a wedding to do Stoptober. Been lots of occasions recently where I’ve been out and sometimes I go too far and then lying awake berating myself, thinking of anything embarrassing that I’ve done. But no more! Can do this!

The more the merrier!

It's scary how fast you build up your tolerance, that's part of the reason I want to do this. Also, I can see the effects alcohol is having on my body. Puffy face, weight gain, crap hair, bloating etc - it's not attractive.

I buy all the lotions and potions to fix the things only stopping alcohol can cure but I wont admit that to myself. It's bound to be something else 🙄 Not this time though - time for a complete factory reset haha.

Happy Monday guys - have a great day!

@KK1983I agree! I spend a lot of money on skincare and botox as well as getting my hair done. Just last week I treated myself to an expensive facial and that night I went out and drunk a load of wine and no doubt undone any benefits!

Going to pop out later today and stock up on some lovely flavoured sparkling waters to keep me going this evening.

I'll join you. Though I am soon off on holiday with two friends, one doesn't drink, the other always arrives with two bottles and I am easily persuaded to share one with her on the first two nights then feel it's my duty to buy for the next two. Maybe I'll text her in advance to say I am not drinking right now.

I always do Dry Jan. Things that help are: get loads of really nice soft drinks in. I like the sugar free San Pellegrinos( not sweetened, just flavoured) V8 for Virgin Mary cocktails and for Friday nights some good AF beers like the Austrian white beer or Brooklyn AF lager. And ginger cordial with apple juice, mint, lots of ice and sparkling water. Making a really lovely drink satisfies the 'I've earned this' feeling to help unwind.

@itsendgame I'd love a facial, might get one mid October. I'm also going to take some pics of my face and body every 7 days to see the difference.

Yeah I'm going to do the same tomorrow, might even go Costco and bulk buy some nice juices etc. I've purchased some electrolytes too, they're actually really nice and not salty at all.

I know this is going to be hard but I know it will be worth it.

@Cinaferna I'd find it hard to holiday without the booze, fair play to you if you can do it. See how you feel whilst you're there. One drink doesn't mean you've failed.

@KK1983I was thinking that for every £ I’d have spent on wine I should stash it into a savings account and at the end of the month treat myself to something! Perhaps you could do the same with your facial?

Id love to know what electrolytes you’ve found, every one I’ve tried has been awful!

Also, I can see the effects alcohol is having on my body. Puffy face, weight gain, crap hair, bloating etc

When I recently had 6 weeks off, I took lots of photos prior from all angles to capture my puffy face and eye-bags as well as the redness. The change by the end of 6 weeks was unmistakable, the glow was back, no more dry looking skin and my eyes were so much brighter. I recommend doing this as a motivation.

Can I join too? I never normally join threads about drinking as I drink way more than the other posters but I think I’ve found my tribe here.

i drink up to 2 bottles of white wine a day. I tried the Sinclair method earlier this year and managed to wrack up a number of dry days but it got quite expensive and I stupidly went back to my normal habits.

I’m going on an all inclusive holiday at the end of the month, not sure how easy it will be to avoid the wine but I want to totally commit until then.

I am also peri menopausal and my body is not coping with the drinking anymore. I feel wobbly the next day and often have memory loss, it’s horrible trying to remember things I said and did. Also things I ate!

Morning (about to be) sober folk.

You can do this @Todayisanewday75. I was on a bottle a day after my DH's stroke. It's very easy to do.

I found a 'cordial' (not sure how you'd describe it) called Mother Root. It's a mix of ginger, chilli, ACV, honey) that you mix with tonic and it's not at all sweet. It tastes very grown up and is a great alternative. That's gotten me through the witching hour a lot. It's really not cheap, but a hell of a lot cheaper than wine. Last ages.

I'd also give a shout out to examining why we feel we need a drink to celebrate or have a good time. It's engrained in society isn't it, and the brain is very clever at creating routines and associations. Stress equals drink, sunshine equals drink, birthday equals drink etc. The Reframe app is brilliant for breaking this down.

Pour a drink last night - poured it away! I'd usually drink it anyway, and another probably but I thought hard and actually didn't want it!

@Todayisanewday75I hear you on the memory loss! I am forgetting whole hours when I’m drunk! I met up with a friend at the weekend and she and I were talking about a recent night out we’d been on, and she was retelling some of the things that had happened and I was nodding away, too ashamed to admit that I couldn’t remember any of it! It’s definitely an age/perimenopause thing, as I never struggled with memory loss when I was younger.